Saffron Squash Loaf

Slice off the ends, peel the squash, cut it in half, scrape out the seeds, cut the halves into slices. Place the slices on a baking tray, covered with baking paper. Bake for about 20 minutes.

Blend the slices and let the purée cool down. Probably, you will have more purée than you need. You can serve the rest as a spread to the loaf, use it in other recipes or eat it on its own.

Crumble

20 g of Baker’s yeast into a large bowl. Add

50 ml of water and

25 g of home-milled spelt or whole-grain spelt flour.

Let sit in a warm place (no more than 35 °C/95 °F) for about 15 minutes. Then add

200 g of squash purée (no more than 35 °C/95 °F warm),

50 ml of orange juice (juice of one small orange),

orange peel or a few drops of essential orange oil,

½ tsp of saffron (crush the threads with your fingertips),

1 tsp of salt and

300 g of home-milled spelt or whole-grain spelt flour.

Knead the dough for at least 5 minutes. The dough should now be elastic and smooth. It should not stick to your hands anymore. Cover the bowl with a plate (kitchen cloth is insufficient, the dough may get a dry skin). Let the dough rise in a warm place for about an hour, until it has approximately doubled in size.

Preheat the oven to 180 ºC (350 ºF).

Give the dough a few kneads: grasp it by one ankle and fold it over to the middle, then push the dough into itself, turn the bowl (or the dough itself, if you are kneading outside of the bowl) for about 30° and repeat.

Divide the dough into three roughly equal pieces. Form each piece into a roll of about 30 cm (12 inches). Plait the rolls. Start in the middle and work your way to each side. Then flip the plaited bread around and place it onto a baking tray covered with baking paper or a loaf pan covered with a little bit of vegan butter. Swab the loaf with soymilk or melted vegan butter and sprinkle some sliced almonds on top. You also can give some sliced almond into the pan before you put in the dough.